Maybe Nico shouldn’t have waited for the girls.
An hour later, they were still inside, hunting down whatever extra necessity clothes could apparently demand. Only now did he realize the wait he’d suffered through before had been nothing. Mercy, really. That’s what it was.
He sat on the bench outside, two plain bags dangling from his fingers. His lieutenant had moved fast, hitting both stores in under fifteen minutes and coming back with a choker necklace and a stack of romance novels Nico had listed out for him beforehand.
He’d done his research on the three girls long before he ever pulled them out of the Fenris mansion. Nira’s obsession with games and music wasn’t a mystery to him. K-pop, specifically, down to the group names.
Mira was easier still. He knew her favorite genres, the kind of characters she gravitated toward, even which series she was currently working through.
Kira was the wildcard, though not really. One look told him she leaned goth. Her father hated it, spent years trying to talk her out of it.
Nico didn’t plan on doing the same.
When the girls finally finished, he walked in right as the total came up on the register. It was a long list. Margaret scanned every piece of clothing one by one, tallying as she went.
"That’ll be seven thousand, eight-fifty and ninety-nine."
The girls looked more stunned by the number than Nico did. He pulled his card from his pocket and slid it across without a word.
Margaret fed it into the reader and typed in the amount. He punched in his pin, and the machine approved it with a short beep.
She packed everything into larger bags, nearly fifteen of them by the time she finished. Nico gave a signal, and a lieutenant crossed the room to gather them all at once.
Before they left, Nico pulled out his wallet and peeled off a thick stack of hundreds. He didn’t bother counting it. He just set it on the counter in front of her.
"Thanks for today, Margaret."
They stepped out of the store. Nico turned to his men, one still balancing the bags, the other posted near the door like he’d been carved there.
"Escort Mira and Kira back to the car." He looked at the two girls next. "I’ll be game shopping with Nira, so run along now."
Kira rolled her eyes and let out a scoff. Her gaze dropped to the bags still hanging from his hand.
"What’s in the bags?"
"It’s none of your business." His reply came sharp, almost automatic. "I’ll be back."
He grabbed Nira’s hand and turned away before Kira could push further, Lucas falling in step behind them. They wound around the mall for a couple of minutes before the game shop came into view.
The place was massive, easily twice the size of the clothing stores they’d just left. Screens covered every wall, flickering through trailers, gameplay footage, looping menus. The ceiling lights dimmed just enough to make the displays pop, giving the whole floor a kind of arcade glow.
Near the entrance, a row of VR pods sat lined up like booths at a carnival, each one occupied by someone thrashing around inside a headset. A crowd had gathered around one pod where a teenager swung wildly at something only he could see, drawing laughter from the onlookers.
Further back, a row of racing rigs sat bolted to the floor, real steering wheels and pedals hooked up to curved screens. One rig had a full dashboard replica, gauges and all, mimicking some car Nico didn’t recognize but assumed was expensive.
Nira practically floated through the door. Her eyes went wide taking it all in, and she did a little hop with each step, the kind of excitement that couldn’t sit still even if it tried.
"Ooh, it’s a kpop VR dancing game." She pointed at one of the consoles, then turned to him. "Let’s try it pleaseeeeee??"
"Sorry, but I’m not a Kpop person, nor a dancer." He said it calmly. "But you can go ahead and knock yourself out."
"I mean..." Her face folded, disappointment settling in fast. "Nevermind, let’s just get the game and leave."
The hop in her step died instantly. She turned and started dragging her feet across the floor, shoulders slumped. Nico shot Lucas a confused glance. Lucas only shrugged, offering nothing useful.
"On second thought." He grabbed her hand again. "I think I’m in the mood to shake off some weight. It’s been like, a long month, you know?"
Her smile snapped back into place. She dragged him toward the stand and shoved a pair of VR goggles into his hands before he could change his mind.
The dance floor beneath them had arrows marked at different angles near their feet, clearly meant to guide the footwork. Nico stared down at them, already regretting his second thought.
The music kicked in, something called ’MANIAC’ by Straight Kids, loud enough to rattle the floor panels.
"Get ready." Nira said.
The first arrow lit up, asking for a step forward. He managed that one fine, scoring a few points for his trouble.
Then the beat sped up and the arrows came in a rush, faster than he could track. His feet lagged behind every cue. The screen flashed red, again and again, rejecting him outright.
Somewhere behind him, laughter broke out. Teenagers, probably. He didn’t need to turn around to know it. He heard it clearly enough the first time.
"I’m never doing this again."
"Why, it’s fun!"
Her score sat glowing at the top corner of the screen, already past a thousand. His hovered somewhere between eighteen and twenty four, a number he refused to look at twice.
When the round ended, he glanced back and found exactly what he expected. A few kids snickering nearby, and Lucas fighting to keep a straight face and failing at it.
"Not funny, Lucas."
"I swear I wasn’t laughing."
"Yayyy, I win." Nira cheered, clapping once before yanking off her goggles. "My very first try and I win."
Damn. Her first try. He filed that away somewhere between impressed and mildly wounded.
They spent the last stretch of time browsing for a game, though it barely took any effort at all. Nira wanted a battle game, high quality, nothing complicated about the request. They knew exactly which shelf to check.
Nico paid at the counter and handed the console case to Lucas, who carried it the rest of the way to the car. Back in the lot, Lucas tossed it into the trunk alongside the rest of the bags.
Nico added the leftover items meant for Mira and Kira on top. The second the last bag landed, the system screen flickered to life in front of him, cutting through the parking lot glare.
___________
[Investment Detected]
[Investment Objective: Secure Loyalty Through Generosity: Take your wives shopping. Lavish them with gifts.]
[Return Multiplier: 300x]
Returns Calculated:
→ Legendary Relic Unlocked: Mafia Training Guide [10% POWER ACTIVE]
→ Territorial Respect Increased: [+1000]
Your lieutenants watch you spoil your wives with designer bags, jewelry, and cars and they understand. This is not weakness. This is power displayed without effort.
When a boss can afford to burn money on luxury, his crew knows he has endless reserves for war. Loyalty deepens. Orders are followed without question. Whispers of doubt die before they’re spoken.
→ Primary Shadow Ability Unlocked: Shadowform
You can now merge your body with living darkness. While in Shadowform:
• Your physical form becomes partially incorporeal, blades pass through, bullets lose force.
• You move silently through shadows, slipping under doors or vanishing into alleyways.
• Intimidation and stealth checks gain overwhelming advantage.
Cost: Entering Shadowform drains 3 Umbra Points. Prolonged use increases Corruption.
___________
Nico read through the last part quickly but diligently.
Shadowform, eh?